


Sail into the Moon

by teeandrainbows



Series: Chopped: The 100 Fanfic Edition [3]
Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Beach, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Background Linctavia - Freeform, Background Marper, Background becho, Bisexual Raven Reyes, Chopped: The 100 Fanfic Edition, Gender or Sex Swap, Interrupted Kiss, Male!Luna - Freeform, Sea mechanic, background memori - Freeform, spacekru
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-03
Updated: 2019-05-03
Packaged: 2020-02-16 11:10:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,867
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18690304
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/teeandrainbows/pseuds/teeandrainbows
Summary: After an accident leaves her unable to sail, Raven hated the thought of being close to the water.  Her friends somehow managed to convince her to go to the beach with them, though, and there she met the most attractive guy... except she might have met him before.  Who knows?  It's a mystery.For the Finals of Chopped 1.0.  2nd place for Solve a Mystery, 1st place for Almost/Interrupted Kiss, 2nd place tie for Biased Flashbacks, 3rd place for Free Trope (thing happens and two characters exchange money)





	Sail into the Moon

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is a submission to the final round of Chopped: The 100, meaning it must include these tropes:  
> 1) Solve a Mystery!  
> 2) The main ship must share something!  
> 3) Almost kiss/Interrupted before kissing  
> 4) Gender swap!!  
> 5) Two characters giving extremely biased flashbacks to the same event  
> 6) Free space!!!! (A thing happens and two people exchange money in the background)

Raven swung her legs out of the car, straightening up and breathing in the saltwater air. A few seagulls flew overhead, squawking loudly, and in front of her, all she could see was the wide expanse of the ocean. Way off in the horizon, she could see boats, and his heart sank.

“Aw, hell yes!” Murphy shouted from behind her, taking off at a run towards the sand. Emori followed behind him, holding his hand. Harper and Monty were next out of the car, standing impossibly close to each other as they walked, murmuring what Raven imagined to be sweet nothings to each other. Damn honeymooners. Finally, Echo and Bellamy slipped out from the front seats and stepped up on either side of Raven.

“You sure about this?” Bellamy asked, his voice laced with concern. He was always like this.

“Yeah,” Raven replied tersely, feeling Echo’s hand on her elbow. Her friend gave his arm a gentle squeeze before adjusting her sunglasses.

“We’re here for you,” Echo said. Bellamy echoed his girlfriend’s sentiment and the three of them began to follow their other friends through the sand.

It was going better than Raven had thought, until she stepped into a larger mound of sand. She had only a moment of warning before her foot started to slide, and her screwed up leg gave away on her. She let out a gasp. Thankfully, Bellamy was right there, and he grabbed Raven’s elbow, holding her upright.

“Thanks,” she mumbled, feeling warm. Sure, it was a hot day (it was summer, after all), but this was a different kind of warm.

The trio made it to where Monty and Murphy were setting up a couple of umbrellas. Harper and Emori were already settled on towels, and it looked like they were enjoying ordering their boyfriends to move the umbrellas this way and that. Echo smirked and went to join the girls while Bellamy helped the boys, and Raven stayed standing, not particularly wanting to get down on the ground, since she knew it would be torture to get back up.

It had been a few months since she had busted her leg. What sucked the most about it was that she couldn’t compete in sailing racing anymore, and that had been her life for years. And all because of a stupid accident. She hadn’t been to the ocean since selling her boat, but her friends had finally convinced him to join them on a beach trip. It helped that this beach was quite a distance from the sailing club.

Harper noticed him lost in thought and called her over. “Come sit with us!” she said sweetly.

Emori spoke up from her towel, more bluntly. “I’m sure John would get you an ice cream if you asked.”

Murphy rolled his eyes and Raven chuckled, shrugging her shoulders. She wasn’t quite ready to sit, though, worried about her leg. Instead, she turned to look out over the water and that was when she saw him.

His hair was long and curly, and he was wearing a wetsuit and holding a surfboard under his arm, talking to a taller man on top of the lifeguard tower. Raven squinted, trying to remember where she had seen the man before. He looked so familiar, but she couldn’t place him to save her life.

She watched as the man waded out in the water, then paddled out further on the surfboard. Then he rose to his feet, riding the waves. Raven didn’t even realize she was staring until he heard a cough behind him.

“Earth to Raven!” Emori’s voice startled her and she turned around, blinking at the shorter girl who was watching her with a curious expression. “What... or who... were you looking at?”

“No one... err, nothing,” Raven lied swiftly. Emori arched an eyebrow.

“Okay, then,” she replied, turning away and grabbing Murphy, dragging him down to the water. Raven breathed a sigh of relief and turned back to the ocean, only to see that the mystery man was gone.

As it turned out, the beach trip had been a lot of fun so Raven and her circle of friends made plans to return the following weekend. It wasn’t as painful as Raven had thought it would be, and if nothing else, it would give her a chance to possibly see the surfer again. She could have sworn she had seen him before, but it was simply escaping her.

The next weekend, after the umbrellas were set up, Raven checked that the brace on her leg was secure and excused herself from the group, making her way slowly over to the ice cream shack. She could feel Bellamy’s concerned gaze on her the whole way over, but ignored it. Sometimes he really overdid it with the whole Dad Friend thing, although truthfully, it was endearing.

When she reached the shack, she paused, looking over the menu. There were a lot of options.

“One scoop of mocha and one scoop of hazelnut,” came a soft voice from behind her. Raven whirled around, took a second to steady herself, and finally realized who it was.

Mystery Man.

She blinked, then met his gaze. He had the most intense eyes, she noticed. “Hm?” she asked, trying to convey confidence.

Mystery Man chuckled. “If you don’t know what you want to get, I’d recommend mocha and hazelnut. It’s a good combination, especially for someone who loves hazelnut.”

That was weird. Hazelnut was her favourite flavour. But Mystery Man couldn’t possibly know that. “What’s your angle?” Raven asked, tilting his head to the side. “Use ice cream to talk to girls? What, did you talk to my friends to find out what I liked?” She would murder Murphy later.

“Woah, it’s nothing like that,” he replied, a curious look passing over his face. “I just haven’t seen you around here before.” He shrugged. “I’m Luca, by the way.”

Raven instantly searched every inch of her mind for any memory of a man named Luca. Nothing came up.

“Raven,” she answered, arching an eyebrow. Once again, a strange expression flitted across his angular features.

“Well, I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable with my casual conversation,” Luca said, taking a step back, then turning and starting to walk away. “Enjoy the beach,” he added over his shoulder.

Raven nodded mutely, then turned and ordered a cone with a scoop of mocha and a scoop of hazelnut.

Luca was right. It was delicious.

Her group of friends quickly decided they loved that beach, and decided that the next weekend, they would drive the two hours from the city and stay in the beachfront hotel for a week, splitting the cost. After all, the city was pretty boring, and Raven couldn’t deny that she liked being back in the ocean air after weeks of the stuffy smog of Arcadia.

She did deny heavily that she wanted to see Luca again, though, and spent the first three days watching him from afar. Somehow, she managed to hide it from her friends, but that didn’t last long.

The fourth day of their vacation, she sat with Echo and Bellamy and watched the other two couples in the water. Raven was also looking for Luca, though, and she finally spied him out in the water, surfing again. She watched the man for a while, not realizing she was smiling under Echo leaned over and poked her.

“What eye candy are you looking at?” she asked, a glint in her eye. Raven immediately tried to deny it, but her friend was persistent. “I know that look, Reyes. Who is it?”

It was no use arguing with her. “Him,” she said, pointing, “surfer with the purple wetsuit.”

Echo watched him for a moment, then smirked. “Oh, nice one. He’s good looking,” she said, arching an eyebrow at Raven. “Well? He’s coming in now. Go talk to him,” she said, elbowing her.

Raven stared at her incredulously. “What? No!” she exclaimed, shaking her head. “I’m not going to—”

“Why not?” Echo interrupted, that smirk still on her face. “Look, it’s been a while since Fiona and Liza. You’ve been through a lot, lately, why shouldn’t you go enjoy yourself? Or have you forgotten how to flirt?”

Raven rubbed the back of her neck, biting her lip. She snuck a glance at the water where, sure enough, Luca was striding out of the water, dripping wet, holding his surfboard under his arm. Raven’s throat went dry.

“Go talk to him,” Echo repeated, pushing her slightly.

“Fine,” Raven said. She knew Echo wouldn’t relent until she did it, so she carefully rose to her feet and checked her brace for sand before walking towards Luca.

“Hey,” she said once she was close enough, raising her hand in greeting. Luca turned towards him, a warm smile spreading across his face.

“Hey there,” he said, slinging his arm around Raven’s shoulder. Raven was thrown off by his brazenness but recovered quickly.

“Are you always here or something?” she asked, ducking out from under his arm.

“I live here, so yes,” Luca replied, shrugging and letting his arm drop. The pair walked together until Luca stopped to put his board away. “You’ve been here a lot, though. It’s been nice to see you more often.”

That was weird. Raven immediately took a step back, eyeing him suspiciously. “What does that mean?” she asked, crossing her arms across her chest.

Another shrug. “Again, I’m here all the time. I notice people. I’ve lived here for a while, so I know who the regulars are. And… I also used to frequent the Dropship Sailing Club, too. It’s a shame you aren’t competing anymore,” Luca said, a touch of wistfulness to his voice.

Raven could only stare at him. “So you’re stalking me, then? What, did you bet on me or something. Trying to make me feel guilty?” she said, the painful memories washing over her. She had come to the beach to escape the pain of not being able to sail anymore, not to be reminded of it.

To his credit, Luca was immediately contrite. “I didn’t mean to offend you,” he said, quickly. “I’m sorry. What happened to you was terrible. I admire you, really. It must have taken a lot to get you back to the beach. But you’re strong.”

With a shrug, Raven turned back to face the water. “I don’t know about strong. I’m really only here because of my friends,” she said, although she knew her face said otherwise. She would give anything to go back out on the water.

Luca stepped forward, close to her. Almost too close. “Baby steps,” he said. Raven glanced over at him, with his long hair and his crooked smile. It was hard to disagree, even if she was still trying to figure out why he kept acting like he knew her.

He changed the subject, asking her what her plans were after summer, and they finally fell into easy conversation. Eventually, a man Raven recognized as the lifeguard from her first day at the beach approached Luca.

“Hey, Nyko wanted to know if you’re still hosting that thing tomorrow night?” he asked, glancing at Raven. Luca grinned.

“Definitely,” he replied. “Oh, and Lincoln? The guest list just expanded.”

Lincoln nodded and turned away, heading over to the man currently sitting on the lifeguard tower. Luca glanced at Raven, grinning.

“I’m having a few friends at my place tomorrow night. Mostly people from around here, but you and your friends are welcome to join.” Then, in answer to the question playing at Raven’s lips, “No need to bring anything, just yourselves. I do have a pool, though.”

Raven considered for a moment, then shrugged. “Sure, I’ll ask them,” she replied. If nothing else, she could try to figure out who on earth this Luca was to her.

He gave her his address and they parted, Luca to… somewhere, and Raven back to her friends. When she arrived back at their umbrellas, it was to Echo, Emori, and Harper grinning at her.

“Well?” Emori asked, an eyebrow raised. Raven’s jaw dropped and she looked over at Echo who shrugged.

“Couldn’t resist,” the taller girl said, stretching out her legs on the towel and crossing one over the other.

Raven sighed. “Yes, I talked to him. We’re invited to a pool party at his place tomorrow,” she said, drily, much to her friends’ glee.

That night, Raven stared out the window of their hotel room. The view wasn’t the greatest; they had an inland-facing room, but it was still nice. Harper, Monty, Echo, Murphy, and Emori were all playing cards on one of the beds, but Bellamy was sitting across the table from her.

“Bell?” she asked, glancing over at him. He stirred, humming a response. “Do you know anyone named Luca?”

“Luca? Not that I know of,” he replied, shrugging. “Why do you ask?”

“No reason,” she lied swiftly, rising to her feet. “I’m going to go shower.”

She didn’t wait for his response.

The next day, Raven spent her entire time at the beach avoiding Luca. Every time she saw him, she turned around to talk to whichever friend of hers was closest. Echo noticed and tried to push her towards the man, but Raven stayed firm.

Instead, she tried her best to participate, even taking part in a bit of beach volleyball when Monty and Harper returned from their walk down the beach with a ball they said they had found abandoned. The group of friends tossed the ball around for a bit, and Raven made sure to stand by Murphy and Monty, the two who were least likely to ask her what was up, although she could feel everyone else’s eyes on her.

Eventually, she couldn’t handle the sympathetic looks from Harper and Emori anymore, nor the concerned look on Bellamy’s face, and wandered off, citing a need to find the outhouse. Raven walked along the beach, gazing out at the water, wishing she could be out there. All her life she had struggled with a heart defect, and then, just as she had finally found herself happy with sailing, that had been ripped from her.

“Hey,” she heard from behind her. Raven turned around, arching an eyebrow at Murphy.

“What?” she asked, crossing her arms across her.

“The brigade sent me to find out why you’re acting so weird,” he drawled, shrugging. “Harper thinks you’re worried about tonight. Bellamy agrees.”

Raven groaned. “It’s really nothing,” she mumbled, turning away from him. She felt a hand on her shoulder.

“You are worried about tonight, aren’t you?” he asked. It was a rare moment of genuine concern from her friend.

Raven took a long time to answer, but she did walk back with him.

That evening, it was time. Bellamy drove them to the address Raven provided, and when they parked on the side of the road, Raven’s eyes widened.

It was a shipping container. Luca lived in a shipping container on a hill overlooking the ocean. Of course he did. The promised pool was to the side of the house, and people were already gathered around it, talking. The seven friends climbed out of Bellamy’s station wagon and walked forward as a unit.

Raven was just turning to Bellamy to ask him what he thought when she noticed his eyes were almost bugged out. She followed his gaze to where his sister of all people was sitting on a bench with the lifeguard, Lincoln. And not just sitting. Well, that explained why Bellamy hadn’t heard much from his sister so far that summer. She put a hand on Bellamy’s shoulder and slowly guided him away.

“It’s not worth it,” she mumbled, catching Echo’s eye. Echo quickly took over, walking with her boyfriend to the pool.

“You made it!” Luca’s voice carried over the crowd as he walked towards Raven, a huge grin on his face. “Do you like it?” he asked, gesturing to the shipping container. “I had it built last year. Living off the grid has been amazing. It gives me time to focus on what I love.”

Raven nodded mutely, glancing around. Her friends had all suspiciously spread out, leaving her alone with the man, and she instantly hated them all for it. It didn’t help that he was wearing shorts and a t-shirt, which seemed to flatter him ever-so-slightly more than the wetsuit she had come to associate him with.

“Can I get you a drink?” he asked, a hand on the small of her back as he was already guiding her towards a cooler. Raven shrugged, accepting a beer and opening it, taking a sip.

As before, the pair fell into easy conversation, something that still managed to blow Raven’s mind. She couldn’t believe how comfortable she felt with him, despite everything. He was funny, she realized, as he made a joke about the beach, and she laughed, forgetting for a moment that she had started out the summer in the worst possible mood.

As the hours flew by, Raven realized that Luca hadn’t spoken to anyone since she had arrived. “Don’t you have guests to entertain?” she asked, tucking a piece of hair behind her ears. Luca shrugged.

“Lincoln and Nyko are handling that for me. I really just wanted to spend some time getting to know you,” he said, guiding her towards the back of the container where they had a perfect view of the ocean. “It’s why I invited you. And your friends, of course. I figured you wouldn’t come without them.”

“But why are you putting in all this effort when we’ve just met?” Raven asked finally, bluntly, just to see the look on his face. She was rewarded with that same curious expression she had come to expect from him.

“Is it so wrong to want to get to know someone?” he asked, staring at her with those intense eyes. She had overheard someone describe Luca as being as fierce as the sea the other day at the beach (seriously, did everyone know this guy except her?), and now she believed it. Raven glanced sideways, avoiding his gaze.

“It’s just a little weird,” she replied, not really knowing what else to say. Luca looked disappointed, and she started backpedaling. “I mean, I came to the beach with my friends to distract myself from not being able to sail, and then there you were, everywhere, talking to me, being nice to me, acting like you know me, and I’m just… really confused,” she blabbed, hating how thin her voice was.

Luca frowned, still looking at her. “I’m sorry if I’ve made you upset, but… Raven, the truth is, from the moment I first saw you, I’ve liked you,” he said, finally turning out to look over the ocean. “I like that you are unashamedly yourself, that you aren’t afraid to speak your mind, and that you’re here with your friends even though it’s obvious you never wanted to be near the ocean again.”

Raven turned, looking at him. In the moonlight, he was even more stunning than he was under the sun. She swallowed, reaching for him. “Luca…”

He turned back to her, the same intensity in his eyes. Their faces moved closer together, until Raven could make out the exact shade of brown of his eyes, and he took her hands in his. It seemed like he was about to kiss her, and then…

“Raven, we need to go!”

She turned, seeing Harper looking more apologetic than she ever had before. It was obvious that she had hated the thought of interrupting them, but there was also panic written on her face. Raven left the question unsaid, and Harper understood immediately.

“It’s Bellamy. He had a… discussion… with Octavia, and he’s pretty worked up. Echo wants to get him back to the hotel. I’m really sorry…”

Raven glanced over at Luca who shook his head quickly. “It’s okay, you go. Your friends are important. We can finish this conversation tomorrow, maybe?” he said, letting go of Raven’s hands and taking a step back.

She gave him a quick smile. “I’d like that,” she said, turning back to Harper. “Where is he now?”

“Murphy and Echo managed to convince him to go get the car started. Monty’s been trying to talk down Octavia. It was… not fun.”

Raven groaned, following Harper back along the container, fully aware that Luca was watching her go. She could process what had just happened later. They stopped for a moment to collect Monty, who seemed to have had some success with Octavia, although Lincoln seemed to have helped too, and made their way to the car where the rest of their friends were waiting.

The drive back to the hotel was silent. Bellamy was still fuming, so Echo was driving, and Raven was settled between Harper and Emori who both were looking at her funny. When they reached the hotel, she finally snapped.

“Just ask me,” she said, after Echo and Bellamy headed inside. Emori smirked.

“You were with Luca the whole time,” she said, grinning. Harper arched an eyebrow.

“And you were about to kiss him, too,” she added in a singsong voice.

Raven groaned, shrugging them off, and the two dissolved into giggles.

“Nice one, Reyes,” Murphy commented, coming up behind her.

Raven would have hit him, but they already had an angry Bellamy to deal with. Instead, she went up to the hotel room and grabbed her phone, checking her Facebook and Instagram for any clues that she knew Luca. It had become a nightly ritual for her. Still, she found nothing.

Day six arrived. It was supposed to be their last day on the beach, and quite frankly, Raven was looking forward to heading back to the city. While it had been a nice distraction and she wasn’t as upset anymore, she also couldn’t deny that the week had left her incredibly confused.

Echo had told everyone to head down to the beach, that she and Bellamy would join them later, so Raven followed the other two couples down the boardwalk to the sand. There, she excused herself, saying she was going to the ice cream shack. Murphy asked her for a vanilla cone, Emori elbowed him, Harper asked if she wanted company, she said no, and Monty told her to have fun.

She walked over, and as sure as the rising sun, there he was, sitting on a stool, almost as if he had been waiting for her.

“Your friend okay?” he asked, rising to his feet. He wasn’t wearing his wetsuit; instead he had on board shorts. Just board shorts. He was shirtless. Raven felt her mouth go dry.

“Yeah,” she replied, turning to the counter and ordering a cone with a scoop of mocha and a scoop of hazelnut. When she turned back to him, Luca had the corniest grin on his face. “What?” she asked, rolling her eyes jokingly. “It’s a good flavour combination.”

“That I suggested,” he replied, tilting his head. Raven chuckled.

“Yes, Luca, you were right. Happy?” she asked, drily. He nodded, and she licked at her cone.

“Walk with me?” he asked, holding out his arm. Raven arched an eyebrow and linked her arm with his, allowing him to guide her down the beach a short distance until they reached an umbrella with a single towel spread out underneath it.

“Nice seashell pattern,” Raven commented, glancing at him just as he rubbed the back of his neck, laughing.

“I always felt like it suited me. I’ve always felt like I was born to be in the ocean,” he said, then cringed. “Sorry, that was insensitive.”

Raven shrugged. “Nah, it’s fine. It sucks, but I think I’m almost at the point where I’ve accepted it now,” she admitted, glancing down at the brace on her leg. Luca grinned.

“Sit with me?”

The way he said it made it impossible for Raven to say no, so she let him help her down, making sure her busted leg was kept as straight as possible, onto the towel that she now realized was a bit smaller than she had thought. Luca settled down beside her, handing her the ice cream cone. She immediately licked at it again, catching the drips that were starting to melt off.

They sat together, chatting, until Raven finally grew bold enough.

“Can I ask you something?” she asked, boldly. Luca gave her that curious look, then nodded.

“Of course,” he replied.

Knowing she had to say it quickly or she would lose her bravado, Raven went ahead with it. “How do you know me? I’ve been trying to figure it out all week. You keep acting like you know me. You know things about me that I never told you. And I can’t figure it out.”

He was silent for a moment, staring out over the water. “You really don’t remember me?” he asked finally, not looking at her. It was immensely awkward, especially since with the towel so small, she was almost sitting in his lap.

“I’m trying to, but you’re not in my social media, my friends have no idea who you are, and I can’t think of anywhere I would have met you,” she replied, sighing. “I’m sorry, but I really don’t know.”

“If I said robotics course, would that mean anything to you?” he asked, finally looking down at her. Raven thought back, and vague memories started to form in her head.

“I went to a robotics course a couple of years back, to keep myself busy during the off season for sailing,” she said, slowly, trying to remember. Luca was silent and still while she thought. “It was two weeks, and we had to build and program a robot that could navigate through a maze and shoot a basketball hoop. Monty was supposed to go with me, but he got pneumonia. I got the prize for the best robot, and…”

Suddenly it hit her. She looked over at Luca, at his face, his hair, and the pieces fell into place. “You were there. At the course. And when I won first prize, you were so jealous. We had been talking throughout the two weeks and then that last day you just refused to talk to me. I remember crying because I couldn’t figure out my robot. I almost quit, but then I figured it out at the last minute and I was excited to talk to you about it and you weren’t there. I looked for you,” she said, crossing her arms across herself. “And you weren’t there. And I thought you never really liked me, and it sucked because…” the memories were flooding back now, “because I liked you. You were smart, and brilliant at programming, and… you didn’t congratulate me or anything!” Her shoulders heaved and her breaths came in short bursts. She felt tears at the corners of her eyes and hated herself for it.

Throughout her speech, Luca remained silent. When Raven fizzled out, though, he glanced over at her.

“That’s not what happened,” he said finally, shaking his head. Raven squinted at him.

“Yes it was. I remember.” Suddenly she felt angry at him, trying to stand up to get away. As she did, though, she put too much weight on her bad leg and crumpled back to the ground, letting out a sharp cry of pain. The tears started to flow then. Luca put a hand on her shoulder.

“No, it’s not. We became good friends at that course. We were supposed to get together that summer so I could teach you to surf and you could teach me to sail. You were obviously the smartest person at the camp, though, and it broke my heart when you thought you wouldn’t be able to get your robot to work. You were so upset. You were crying, yes, almost in hysterics. I had to hold you to get you to calm down. Then your friends showed up for the final testing and you spent the entire afternoon with them. I tried to talk to you, but I couldn’t get a word in edgewise,” he explained, his voice terse. “I genuinely liked you a lot, and I was looking forward to spending time with you that summer but you never called. I figured you had just forgotten about me. So when I saw you a couple of weeks ago… I remembered you, but you had no idea who I was.”

Raven immediately felt guilty. Now that she thought about it, she had spent the majority of the final day of the course with her friends, and not with the other participants. “I’m sorry,” she whispered, biting her lip. “Those people are my family. I don’t really have anyone else.”

“I remember. You told me about that. My parents are both on the other side of the world,” Luca said quietly. Raven glanced at him, swallowing a lump in her throat.

“I think I remember you telling me about that, too. I can’t believe you held on to me for two years,” she breathed out. It was mind-boggling. Luca shrugged.

“Like I said, I really liked you. I went to the Dropship Sailing Club a few times, but you were always busy with your friends, and I didn’t want to interrupt. Then I heard about your accident, and I thought about reaching out, but… it had been too long, I thought,” he explained.

Raven let out a breath. “I’m so sorry,” she whispered, feeling very small. 

“Don’t be,” Luca replied, slipping an arm around her shoulders. She instinctively relaxed into his arms. It felt safe. “You had a busy life. I’m just glad I got to meet you again. When I saw you a couple of weeks ago, I couldn’t believe my eyes.”

Raven laughed. “Neither could I. My subconscious must have been screaming at me to remember you because I noticed you straight away,” she admitted, blushing lightly. “And as difficult as I was, it was really nice to get to know you all over again.”

“I never thought you were difficult,” he said, grinning. “It’s just you. You’re an incredible woman, Raven Reyes.”

Raven grinned right back, leaning her head on his shoulder. “I know I am,” she said, much to his amusement. Then he brought his hand to her cheek, turning his head and then they were kissing. Raven melted into the kiss, and suddenly didn’t mind that they were sharing such a small towel.

“Will I see you tomorrow?” Luca asked, gently rubbing his thumb in circles on her shoulder. Coupled with the sight of the waves rolling in, it was very soothing. Raven bit her lip.

“We’re leaving in the morning,” she admitted, hating the fact.

Luca was silent for a moment. Then, he spoke. “I’m not letting you fade into obscurity this time,” he said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a phone. Raven arched an eyebrow. “What’s your number?” he asked, handing the phone to her so she could enter it in. Once she did, he took the phone back from her and quickly tapped out a text. “There. Now you don’t have an excuse not to text me,” he said, almost triumphantly.

Raven grinned. “Good. I don’t want you to fade into obscurity either,” she said, thinking about her phone, sitting on the table in the hotel room. Luca grinned, kissing her forehead, and then they fell into the easy conversation she was used to again.

That night, she was playing cards with her friends, and Bellamy was making sure everyone knew the plan for their trip back to the city in the morning.

“And don’t forget, check out is 11, so we should—”

“Does anyone actually need to be back tomorrow evening?” Raven asked suddenly, interrupting Bellamy.

There was a moment of awkward silence, then Echo shrugged. “I don’t,” she said. Everyone else promptly agreed with her, and all heads turned to Bellamy. After a pause, he finally shook his head. It wasn’t surprising. He was still upset over his encounter with his sister.

“Why don’t we stay an extra day and head back on Monday instead?” she proposed. There was a light chorus of agreement, excluding Bellamy, until once again, he nodded a second later. She smiled, playing her next card, ignoring the suspicious looks directed at her from the other girls.

Morning came, and Bellamy spoke with the desk clerk at the hotel, asking for an extra night in their room. Then the seven made their way down to the beach and one more time set up their umbrellas and towels, settling down as a group. Raven sat with her legs extended, gazing out over the water until she spotted him riding a wave. She grinned, watching him until he returned to the shore, shaking out his hair.

Then he saw her. She lifted an arm, giving him a flirty wave, and grinned at his reaction. Luca quickly walked towards her, a look of shock on his face.

“Look who it is,” Echo said, arching an eyebrow at Raven. She ignored her friend, using Murphy’s shoulder despite his protests to help herself to stand up, then she walked forward, meeting Luca just as he approached the umbrellas.

“I thought you were—” Luca started before Raven cut him off with a firm kiss. Then she wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him. Behind her was silence. As she pulled out of the hug, Luca was chuckling.

“You know, one of your friends just gave money to another one,” he said, nodding over her shoulder. Raven turned to see Harper pocketing the money while Emori looked sour. Echo was smirking.

“Harper insisted you two would end up together by the end of the week. Emori took her up on the bet,” she explained, just as the three boys arrived with ice creams for the girls.

Raven took her ice cream from Bellamy and licked at it before holding it out for Luca to take a lick. Of course, it was hazelnut and mocha, and he grinned, happy to share it with her.

“Guys, I want you to meet Luca,” she started, beaming as she told them how she had finally figured out how she knew him. The story was met with a variety of reactions, although the most amusing was Murphy who loudly proclaimed that he had recognized Luca immediately, and had been waiting to find out if he was good enough for Raven.

The following weekend, instead of going to the beach, Bellamy drove the group in his station wagon to the Dropship Sailing Club. Luca met them there, and stood proudly beside Raven as she made arrangements to buy a new boat. Although she wasn’t sure she could handle dinghy racing with her leg as bad as it was, perhaps she could learn to handle a slightly larger boat. It would take some time, but she was determined to get back on the water, one way or another, and with her friends behind her and Luca at her side, she figured it was possible.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! Check out dylanobrienisbatman or thelittlefanpire on tumblr for links to vote for your favourite fic in this round, and definitely check out the other fics in this collection! Everyone is so talented, and I'm so happy to be writing with everyone! If you liked this, please leave me kudos and comments!
> 
> And thank you SO MUCH to dylanobrienisbatman and thelittlefanpire for organizing this amazingly fun event!
> 
> PS there was a throwaway mention to past girlfriends of Raven's - Fiona and Liza. Fiona is supposed to be Finn, and (e)Liza(beth) is supposed to be (e)Zeke(iel). Lol.


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